* Our film festival awards over $50,000 in prizes annually.
* One of the leading, most prestigious and biggest smartphone film festivals in the world.
* Festival Ambassadors include Phillip Noyce, Kriv Stenders, Kerry Armstrong, Nicole da Silva, Christopher Stollery, Pieter de Vries, Garry Maddox, Anthony Kierann and Emily Prior.
* Selected films will screen at our live festival in Sydney, Australia at SF3 2025 happening November 7-9th, 2025.
-----
SF3 - the SmartFone Flick Fest is Australia’s international smartphone film festival and one of the leading and most innovative film festivals in the world.
Open to filmmakers of all ages from every country; from first-time filmmakers to professionals and from kids, tweens and teens all the way to adults. As long as your film is shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet, your film is eligible for submission. Our Festival Ambassadors are Hollywood legend Phillip Noyce, Kerry Armstrong, Christopher Stollery, Kriv Stenders, Nicole da Silva, Jason van Genderen, Anthony Kierann, SMH Journalist Garry Maddox, Pieter de Vries and disability advocate Emily Prior. Our esteemed judging panel consists of the cream of the Australian, African and Hollywood film industries all here to celebrate mobile and tablet filmmaking.
We have 5 categories in 2025. They are:
1. The SF3 Best Film for short films 20 mins and under. The films must be entirely shot on smartphones or tablets, with the exception that a very minimal amount of Drone footage is allowed and archival footage is also allowed if necessary to the story. The films can be edited on any device and with any program and external equipment like lenses and mics can be used. Within this category we will also award The Blackmagic Camera Award for films shot using the Blackmagic Cam App, the #FILMBREAKER Award for first-time filmmakers and the Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award for films that are both shot and edited on a mobile device as additional prizes to our Best Film, Best Director, etc. awards. The Official Selection from this category will be screened in our 2025 Gala Finals and will vie for our top festival prizes.
2. The SF3 Best Feature Film. This is for feature films shot entirely on smartphones and tablets. A minimal amount of drone footage and archival footage is allowed. Films must be a minimum of 30 mins with no maximum.
3. The SF3 Kids Award for filmmakers 18 and under at the time of filming. All films must be shot entirely on smartphones and tablets. A minimal amount of drone footage and archival footage is allowed. The time limit is up to 10 mins. Longer kids film that are really fantastic and justify being longer will be accepted with permission from us at sf3@sf3.com.au
4. The SF3 AI Award for AI made films up to 20 mins. These films must be created on a mobile device using AI and can be any genre or topic. These films must be written by a writer, only made using AI.
5. The SF3 Mini Mobile Award is for films up to a maximum of 3 minutes in length, in any genre. The theme for our SF3 Mini 2025 is BREATH. Use this as your starting point or your inspiration and interpret as you like, even as loose as you need, this is just a prompt for inspiration.
Everyone has a great idea for a short film and a potential movie camera in their pocket, so no excuses. Here’s your chance to start filming and be in the running to share in over $50,000 worth of prizes awarded annually, and have your film screened on one of Australia's premiere screens in front of a global audience at our 2025 Festival in November 2025 happening in Sydney, Australia.
Our finalist films and winning feature film/s will be selected from all the entries to screen at SF3 2025 Our festival will include live screenings, red-carpet events, award ceremonies, VIP party, networking events, panel discussions and masterclasses. The amount of films chosen to screen varies each season but our live screening s will feature the best short films across our categories plus we will screen the best 1 to 3 feature films live and all other feature film finalists at our SF3 Online Festival. A selection will also be made for some of our favourite entries to screen at our SF3 & MINA Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia in October, 2025. These films will be our Highly-Commended Selection.
We are passionate advocates for the showcasing of the best smartphone films from all around the world, shown up on Sydney's top big screens.
Many of our past Gala and other finalist films have been invited to screen around the world at our partner film festivals including the International Mobil Film Festival in San Diego, MINA, the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival and more. The opportunities are endless for cellphone filmmakers and past entries have even been sold to streaming networks and in-flight entertainment channels.
All films MUST be shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet (their are a few exceptions if you read our T&Cs), meet our time requirements and you can use any editing software, apps and phone additions, and you can edit on a PC, laptop, tablet or your phone. To enter SF3 you can shoot on any mobile device: iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Oppo, Huawei, Google Pixel, Tablet or more.
So, pull your phone out of your pocket and start filming, it really is that easy!
SF3 film festival is proud to award over $50,000 worth of prizes from our amazing sponsors including prize packs from our our Major Sponsors - Luma Touch & Blackmagic Design, Silver partners Melodie & Accounting Heart, our Bronze Partners - Chicken & Chips Casting & Rubber Monkey and prize partners Shotlister, NIDA, Ink Tip, WriterDuet, Screen Actors Workshop, Power Productions and Story Board Quick, the Australian Cinematographer's Society, Screen Producers Australia, the Australian Writer's Guild, The Australian Director's Guild, Zacuto, iPitch TV, Ribbet, AFI/AACTA, Backstage, Australian Guild of Screen Composers, Star Now, Film Local, Spineless Wonders & many leading industry mentorships.
Prizes awarded: In 2024 we offered over 36 Awards across 6 screenings and we will be doing very similar prizes and awards in 2025 (they are currently being locked in). Here is the breakdown of awards across each screening each with a prize pack from our sponsors. Annually we give away over $50,000 worth of prizes from our generous partners including Da Vinci Resolve Speed Editors and Colour Panel from Blackmagic Design, Luma Touch apps, memberships, apps, lenses, microphones, classes, mentorships, a brand new iPad and soo much more.
THE SF3 GALA AWARDS celebrating the best in smartphone filmmaking:
SF3 Best Film Award
SF3 People’s Choice Award
SF3 Best Director Award
SF3 Best Cinematography Award
SF3 & ACS Best Cinematography Runner-Up Award
SF3 Best Screenplay Award
SF3 Best Documentary Award
SF3 Best Editing Award
SF3 Best Original Score Award
SF3 Best Actress Award
SF3 Best Actor Award
SF3 & Luma Touch Finished on Mobile Award (for films both shot and edited on a mobile device)
SF3 & Blackmagic Camera Award (for a film shot using the Blackmagic Cam App)
SF3 & WIFT NSW Best Female Creative Award
SF3 First Nations Award supported by Dolby (for films made by a filmmaker that identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander)
SF3 Community & Diversity Award (for a film that is either shot by or that is about and features stories, creatives, filmmakers and actors from under-represented communities such as the LGBTQIA+ community, First Nations, Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers and more.)
SF3 Founders’ Flick Pick
#FILMBREAKER Award (for the most promising first-time and/or emerging filmmaker)
SF3 & Spineless Wonders Best Adaptation Awards ( one award for the author of the winning Micro Fiction and the second for the filmmaker)
SF3 Chicken & Chips Casting Award
SF3 Gala Finalists
SF3 KIDS celebrating the best mobile and tablet filmmaking by children, tweens and teens
SF3 Kids Best Film Award High School
SF3 Kids Best Film Award Primary School
SF3 Kids Blackmagic Cam Best Film Award High School
SF3 Kids Blackmagic Cam Best Film Award Primary School
SF3 Kids Best Director Award
SF3 Kids Best Cinematography Award
SF3 Kids Best Screenplay Award
SF3 Kids Best Editing Award
SF3 Kids Best Documentary Award
SF3 Kids Best Actor Award
SF3 Kids Best Actress Award
SF3 Kids Finalists
SF3 MINI Mobile Award for micro films 3 mins or less shot on cellphones
SF3 Mini Best International Film
SF3 Mini Best Australian Film
SF3 Mini Highly-Commended Awards x4
SF3 Mini Finalists
SF3 FEATURE FILM for smartphone feature films
SF3 Best Feature Film Award
SF3 Feature Film Finalists
SF3 & MINA Film Festival Official Selection Films and SF3 Highly-Commended Award
SF3 Best AI Film